1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally pertains to candles that burn with a flame having a characteristic color, and in particular to candles that burn with a vividly colored flame such as red, blue, purple, yellow, white, etc.
2. Prior Art
Recently, the commercial significance of candles has shifted from a basically utilitarian product that merely provides illumination to a product whose function is to create a desired atmosphere by means of light and color. To that end, there have been many attempts at providing candles which burn with various types of colored flames. Most of such conventional prior art colored flame candles use metallic salts as coloring agents, either by compounding said coloring agents with the primary combustion material of the candle or else by incorporating them into the candle's combustion wick by means of absorption or the use of binders. Although fairly marked improvements have been made in such prior art candles, up to present time, attempts to obtain the large, vividly colored flame required for many desired effects have failed, since it has not been possible to eliminate the yellowish orange flame such as is associated with primary combustion materials such a paraffin, stearic acid, or of the wick itself.
Until now in attempt to inhibit the yellowish orange color associated with the combustion of paraffin, carbamic acid or oxalate has been used instead of paraffin as a primary combustion agent (see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 2,481,019) but with such alternative material, when the candle diameter is less than 10 mm, sufficient caking ability necessary to retain the candle shape is lacking and a high setting strength is unobtainable. In order to overcome this, stearic acid, etc. may be added about (about 15-50%) for improving the candle shape retaining properties but this causes much of the flame's end to assume the undesirable yellowish orange color during burning, and even when primary combustion materials which burn with a colorless flame, such as ethyl carbamate, are used, a completely colorless combustion flame cannot be obtained and the desired vividly colored flame remained unobtainable.
Thus there remained a need in the prior art for a candle which burned with a vividly colored flame which was strong and free of any yellowish orange color.